


Sharing a Bed

by wardenmages



Series: Evolve [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: DEArtfest, Detroit Evolution, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25027888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wardenmages/pseuds/wardenmages
Summary: They have a routine. Gavin falls asleep, Nines retreats into his garden to sort through his day, Gavin has a nightmare.Written for day 2 of the Detroit Evolution artfest.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: Evolve [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1812487
Comments: 4
Kudos: 70





	Sharing a Bed

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my name is Connor and I never finish projects but keep starting new ones, here's the start of the DE artfest prompts I'm writing fic for lol. Fics will vary in length depending on what they are (please expect monster AU to be excessively long, for example lol). I was going to pile them all into one but that doesn't make a lot of sense tbh

It didn’t take long for Nines to build a new routine after moving in with Gavin. He worried at first they would both need time to adjust; Gavin had lived on his own for years, and Nines had _never_ shared a living space like this. There were boundaries and lines he was afraid he would stumble over, body language from Gavin he would miss, miscommunications leading to another fight.

It was good. Better than good, it was _incredible_. Nines loved coming home to the cat, making sure Gavin ate something resembling a full meal, and lying in bed beside his boyfriend, even if neither of them slept. He could close his eyes and work on rebuilding his garden, and he would receive an alert to exit the tool-set if Gavin’s vitals changed significantly.

Gavin’s mental health had been improving over the past few months, but his pain couldn’t be erased entirely. When Gavin was irritable and frustrated, Nines could talk to him, find what he needed, whether that be solitude or someone to listen to him or a more specific solution. Sometimes he just needed to tell Gavin he was being an asshole, in more colorful terms, to snap him out of it. During flashbacks, Nines would just hold his hand, squeezing occasionally to bring Gavin back to the present whenever he drifted. 

There was nothing he could do if Gavin was asleep when it happened. All he could do was handle the aftermath - if Gavin’s heart rate went higher than his normal range or his movement increased, Nines would be woken from stasis immediately. There was roughly a fifty-fifty chance Gavin would be awake when he did. Nines wasn’t sure which was worse.

This time, Gavin woke up first. Nines opened his eyes just as Gavin scrambled upright, pressing his back to the headboard with shallow, shaky breaths. His eyes darted around the room before finally landing on Nines.

“Sorry,” he rasped.

“I don’t sleep anyway,” Nines reminded him gently as he sat up beside him. “What do you need?”

He swallowed hard. “I don’t know, uh, shit... Just, no touching yet. Fuck.”

“Alright.”

They sat in silence for four minutes and thirty-eight seconds. More than once his shoulders tensed, shooting up to his ears, like he was being attacked by something Nines couldn’t see. (Maybe he was.) His whole body trembled as he visibly forced himself to take deeper breaths than necessary. It looked painful. Nines wanted to comfort him, lie down with him and rub his back until he fell back to sleep. Anything to make it more bearable.

Nines watched Gavin’s vitals slowly level out to something approaching his personal normal. He always showed some physical signs of stress, but Nines always knew what to look for. Eventually Gavin dropped his head to Nines’ shoulder and slid one hand down to rest along his thigh. Instinctively, Nines moved one arm to rest across Gavin’s back and held Gavin’s with his other. 

“Sorry,” he repeated. “I’m... good. I think.”

Nines moved his hand up to Gavin’s hair, gently running his fingers through it. Gavin instantly melted against him. “There’s nothing to apologize for. Do you think you’ll be able to go back to sleep?”

“Maybe. I just want to stay like this, for a bit.”

“Of course.”

Gavin leaned away for a short moment to grab his tablet off the bedside table and settled it across both of their laps. Nines didn’t even pay attention to what Gavin set to play as the cat tentatively jumped up to settle at their feet. He was more than content to continue watching his best friend and boyfriend, stroking the back of his hand with his thumb when his grip on Nines’ leg tightened, gently scratching at his scalp when his pulse quickened, turning to kiss him when he fidgeted to escape the ghosts of long-healed bruises.

By the fourth video in the playlist, Gavin’s head was growing heavier and heavier. Nines gently took the tablet away and closed the app, setting it to the side. It was easy to coax the armful of suddenly sleepy boyfriend back down to lie horizontal. He would never do it if he was awake, but barely conscious Gavin flipped onto his side to throw his arm across Nines’ chest and tangled their legs together under the blanket. Nines let a small amount of heat build up in his hand before laying it across the back of Gavin’s neck.

There was always a chance Gavin would wake up again, have the same reaction, panic at how much of himself was pressed against Nines, but for the moment, he was alright. Nines learned very early to take the good moments for what they were rather than waste them worrying about what might come. He closed his eyes and ran one last diagnostic.

“Is there any way to get you to stop scanning me?” Gavin mumbled into his shoulder.

He smiled. “Not as long as you have vitals to scan.” 


End file.
